AP B-student: Ivy League material?

<p>I already posted this on the "high school life thread", but...</p>

<p>Brown University is my absolute dream school, but I'm incredibly concerned about my GPA. I was in all honors classes for my freshman and sophmore year, but unfortunately I didn't fully apply myself and ended up with B+'s in most of them, leaving me with a 4.0 weighted GPA on a 5.0 scale. I'm not sure what that is unweighted, but it's certainly not the 3.7+ I need. </p>

<p>Junior year, I'm taking 5 APs and 2 honors. Realistically, if I work very hard and get A's in all of them, will I be able to boost my GPA enough to be a viable candidate for Brown, or have I blown my chances?</p>

<p>^ I don't know how many courses you took for your fresh/soph year but did you calculate it hypothetically if you got an A in all your Junior year courses?</p>

<p>Hi, marlowe!</p>

<p>I see that you're a Brown prospect. I am too! Brown is soooo awesome ... </p>

<p>Anyways, there isn't a minimum GPA that you need for admission to the Ivies. Generally, people do recommend a 3.8 UW GPA just to play "safe," but I've heard of people getting admitted to schools like Stanford with a UW 3.7 or 3.6. </p>

<p>First of all, it sounds like that you did slack off during your freshman and sophomore years. Did you work harder junior year? If you did do better junior year while taking AP classes, college admission officers will be less harsh on your GPA, because they like to see an upward grade trend. Also, did you have any difficult or extenuating circumstance, such as a family death or parent divorce? If that happened, make sure to have your counselor explain your situation, and you should do that also in your essays, and tell them what you did to make your situation better and how you would better approach it if you had a 2nd chance. Also, explain how it makes you a stronger student compared to the perfect candidate with a 4.0 ... you ... having faced some difficulties in high school would be more able to solve problems if you encounter them in college. </p>

<p>However, GPA is not the only thing admission officers look at. There are also extracurriculars, standardized test scores, and essays/letter of recs. Make sure you do a really good job on the essay and ... good luck!</p>

<p>You have a decent chance is you do well junior year. Realistically, its difficult to get all A's in five APs and two honors. Try your best and don't flip if you get a B, especially in an AP.</p>

<p>The other factors in admissions (ECs, test scores, essays, etc.) can make up for your GPA. If you showed a passion for something and excelled in it (along with leadership), it would enhance your application. If you list the other factors, it would help to chance you as an applicant.</p>

<p>Also, find out your unweighted GPA, it may be better than you think.</p>